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hi everyone just a quicky. im having problems raising the humidity levels in my haplopelma lividums tank. the temps at 78 and the humidity is at 58. i give the tank a good misting every other day and allow the water dish to over fill every now and then. i dont know if the gauges are giving a false reading or not but if not i would have to soak the substrate but then i get to think if i have to do that i might end up with a mite infestation wich is the last thing i want to happen so is it possible the gauge is faulty. also she dont seem to be eating whitch is causing me concern. i think she molted last month in her burrow trouble is i cant get close enough to find out if there's any evidence of this. any advice please.
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Are you using a Dial Hygrometer? If so then ditch it. They are absolutely hopeless! I ignored this advice when I first started out in the hobby but soon realised that they give a very innacurate reading and can really throw your judgement off. Use a digital hygrometer if you want a more accurate reading. Personally I don't use one at all anymore. Having used a digital one for some time I tend to know how moist the substrate has to be to meet the humidity requirements.Originally posted by vincent winyard View Post
Jamie
My Collection:
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As Jamie has said, throw it away and dont bother with hygrometers. Just pour water in one spot of the container as misting or spraying does absolutely nothing apart from raising the humidity for a few hours.
I've had colbalts before and all I did was make sure that the substrate was slightly damp which is all that is needed.
To get a mite infestation, there would have to be uneaten food or food bolas for the mites to multiply to plague proportions which is easily avoided by doing tank maintance on a weekly basis.Comment
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hi there jamie i have heard before that some heat and humidity gauges are not as good as there made out to be but i guess im just trying my hardest to do the right thing for this t as this is new to me. having said that i managed to keep hold of an versicolor from a sling so i must be doing something right. but like i said keeping old world t's is a whole new ball game to me so i suppose i must be trying a little to hard and and letting things worry me to easy. it's just the eating problem as i thought colbalt's are good eaters. i.ll see how things go many thanks for your help jamie.Comment
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hi pete i do let the water dish overflow every now and then and i do clear any food bolas and anything else i find. the only thing i haven't been doing is pouring water on the substrate which i'll start doing. i see what you mean about spraying it's just like a light shower and with the heat it dry's out in no time. i've just got to try and get her to eat now and then hopefully problem solved. many thanks for your help pete.Comment
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I would just pour water down one side of the container so that the water flows to and along the very bottom of the container. The hardest part is judging exactly how much water to use, I would pour a small amount and then leave it for a few hours and then add another small amount as and if needed.
My advice is to ignore all of the useless so called caresheets and just go by your individual spiders requirements.
Colbalts DO need a slightly higher humidity but dont forget that the humidity INSIDE the burrow is going to be much higher than on the surface ! ! !
Once the humidity is sorted and the spider is happy, she will feed again.Comment
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cheers pete for your help. i will get it right. she dont seem to bad she comes out most nights hopefully things will get better now i know how to sort out the humidity problem thanks again mate.Comment
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Gotta admit that I have NEVER checked on the humidity of any of my spiders at any time over the last . . . . . 30 years . . .(thats showing my age innitOriginally posted by vincent winyard View Post
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With very few exceptions I've found that if the substrate is slightly damp (and i mean slightly) and the spider has fresh clean water available then you can generally ignore most of the so called expert caresheets in the internet.
Most of them are copied from each other most of the time with the words slightly rearranged so that the "author" can, with hand on heart say "I wrote that myself"
I've been working a 7 day week for the last few weeks so the spiders have been neglected slightly as in they havent been fed or watered which is no big deal for them (a big deal for me cos I'm trying to reduce my roach population) I've just got in tonight at silly o'clock and decided to have a quick check on them as I havent been down the spider shed since last week.
Guess what ? Nothing dead or in trouble. Even the so called delicate Avicularia and Tapinauchenius slings that havent been fed or "sprayed" (which i never do anyway) for about 2 weeks and whose substrate is almost bone dry are still alive and kicking. I'll use a syringe to squirt some water into their web next weekend and that will be it for another week.
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i have seen t's in well lets just say not very good conditions by collectors and they seem to look like there happy as larry if thats the right saying. care sheets have gone out the window but like i said they seemed happy enough i hope so anyway. there's no way would i dream of keeping my lot the same way i do my best for them but it's good to know there is a bit of leeway in there well being thanks pete.Comment
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